Machine



5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

' A. H. MORTON. FIBER FEEDING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 17, 1894.

INVENTOR I BY WITNESSES! p fimz ATTORNEYS LITHOGRAPHING COMPANY.

mm. b. c.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets'-Sheet 2.

' A. H. MORTON.

FIBER FEEDING MACHINE.

.NO. 518,419. -Patented Apr. 17,1894.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR THE NATIONAL LmmaRAPMmn COMPANV.

wnsnma'ron. a o.

(No Model.) 5.SheetS-Y Sheet 3.

A. H. MORTON.

FIBER FEEDING MACHINE.

No. 518,419. Patented Apr. 17, 1894.

WITNESSES:

- ATTORNEY WABHINGTO'N. n c.

"(NoModelJ 5 Sheets-Sheet 4. AH. MORTON.

FIBER FEEDING MACHINE;

Patented Apr. 17, 1894.

' BY m WITNESSES:

INVENTOR f M TTORNEYS.

mi NATIONAL umoumwnma comum'.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets'-Sheet 5. A. H. MORTON.

FIBER FEEDING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 17, 1894 WITNESSES:

INVENTOR 313* W 4km ATTORNEYS.

n45 NATIONAL LITHOGRAFHINQ COMPANY.

wnsnmaron. o c.

' UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

ALBERT HAYES MORTON, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE KITSONMACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

' FIBER-FEEDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 518,419, dated April17, 1894.

Application filed November '7, 1893. Serial No. 490.296. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT HAYES MOR- TON, of Lowell, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Fiber-Feeding Machines, of which the following isa specification.

This invention has relation to fiber-feeding machines, and it has forits object the provision of such improvements as will secure the supplyof the material in unvarying quantity from the feeding machine to themachine or machines in which it is to be treated.

One of the chief difficulties in the way of effecting an even feed inmachines of the kind mentioned has resided in the fact that as theamount of stock in the hopper varied, with a consequent variation in thedegree of pressure of the same against thelifting or spike apron, theamount of material engaged and carried up by the latter variedaccordingly. In other words, when the hopper was full the pressure ofthe stock against the lifting apron would be greatest and the latterwould engage and carry up the greatest amount of material, and as theamount of stock in the hopper decreased, and the pressure against thelifting apron was diminished the said apron would engage and carry up acorrespondingly less amount of material.

By the present invention the diificulty mentioned is overcome, the saidinvention consisting in so utilizing the amount of stock in the hopperas to. regulate the rate of speed at which the lifting apron is driven,the means provided for carrying out the invention comprising a yieldingsupport for the material, which support may be either vertical,inclined, or lateral, a speed-changing mechanism which controls thespeed of the liftingapron and connections between the same and saidspeed-changing mechanism, so that as the weight or pressure of thematerial on the support varies the speed of the liftingvapron may bevaried. Either the quantity of the material delivered to or by themachine may be utilized in carrying out my invention.

Reference is to be had to the annexed drawin gs and to theletters markedthereon forming a part of this specification, the same lettersdesignating the same parts or features as the case may be, wherever theyoccur.

Of the drawings-Figure l is a side elevation of a one-sectionfiber-feeding machine provided with my improvements a part of the framebeing represented as broken away. Fig. 2 is a similar side elevation ofa two section machine, the improvements being shown as applied so as toregulate the speed of the lifting apron of the first section accordingto the amount of stock on the feed apron of the second section. Fig. 3is a similar view of. a one-section machine showing the manner ofapplying the improvements so as to regulate the speed of the liftingapron by the amount of stock on the feed apron of a lapping or similarmachine. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are diagrams showing, respectively, in planand side and rear elevation,a modified, vertical yielding support forthe material. Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrams showing different forms-oflateral supports which may be employed in my invention.

In the drawings a designates the frame of the machine.

b is the hopper or supply box to receive the stock.

a is'the lifting or spike apron which is supported on and travels aroundthe parallel rolls d e.

f designates the rotary comb or knock-off, which removes the surplusstock from the lifting apron. Any suitable form of means may,'however,be employed for this purpose.

g designates the dofier which removes the stock delivered by the liftingapron.

h designates the feed apron which travels around the parallel rolls M.

The lifting apron is operated by the roll (1 which is driven from thedriving band pulley it through the medium of suitable speedchangingmechanism, said speedchanging mechanism consisting in the present caseof two reversed cones Zm, connected by a'belt n which is adapted to beshifted on the cones by belt-shipping levers 0 of ordinary construction.The driven conel has its shaft provided witha bevel pinion 10 whichengages and drives a bevel gear q on the shaft of the upperlifting-apron roll d. The driving cone m has a bevel gear 0' on itsshaft which is engaged by a lllre gear 5 connected with a band pulleytdriven from the band pulley k by means of a belt u. a

As has been stated the chief purpose of this lnvention is to change orvary the speed of the lifting apron as the amount of stock gf by thelatter varies, and this is accompllshed by providing yielding supportsfor the stock so connected with the speedchanglng mechanism as that thelatter may be operated by the varying positions of the former one to theweight or pressure thereon of the stock.

In Fig. 1 the feed apron his made to serve as the yielding support forthe regulation of the speed of the lifting apron. The rolls 11 j of thesaid feed apron are journaled in a skeleton lever 12, fulcrumed at itsforward end and counterbalanced by a weight w on an arm s: which arm isconnected with the belt shipping levers 0 through the medium of a rod y.A spring 2 tends to raise the free end of the lever 12 and consequentlythe rear end of the apron when there is no weight thereon or the weightthereon is light, accordmg to the adjustment of the spring orcounterbalancing weight or both.

In the operation of the invention as thus far described it will be seenthat as the box is filled with stock the feed apron forming a yieldingsupport will be depressed, the free end of the arm as will be raised,and the shipping levers of the speed-changing mechanism operated to runthe lifting apron at a comparatively slow speed. As the material in thehopper becomes exhausted and the lifting apron catches less stock ortends to carry up less stock the free end of the liftmg apron will beraised, moving the arm to and operating the speed-changing mechanism soas to run the said lifting apron at ahigher rate of speed, the speedbeing increased in accordance with the degree to which the free end ofthe feed apron is raised, the latter bemg governed by the weight of thestock thereon, as will be readily understood.

Instead of employing a feed apron as a support for the material, a plainboard surface may be used.

0 In Fig. 2 substantially the same mechanism 1 s employed for operatingthe speed of the lifting apron of the first section, as has been shownin the description of the construction and operation of partsillustrated in Fig. 1, the only difference in this construction beingthat the stock carried up by the lifting apron of the first section anddelivered to the second section is made to control the speed of thelifting apron, the feed apron in the second section being employed inthis illustration as the yielding support by which the speed-changingmechanism is controlled. In this instance the lever y connects directlybetween the yielding support and the beltshifter instead of through themedium of a weighted lever, as in Fig. 1. If an unduly great amount ofstock is delivered to the second section, the feed apron will bedepressed and the speed of the lifting apron slowed down. If there is atendency to deliver less stock than is required for the second section,the reverse operation of the feeding apron will take place and thelifting apron W111 b speeded up.

In Fig. 3 substantially the same construction and mode of operation areillustrated as in Fig. 2, the only difference being that instead of thestock being delivered to a second section, it is delivered upon the feedapron a, of a lapper or other similar machine, which feed apron deliversthe stock to the feed rolls b.

In all instances thus far cited the feed apron, which is made toconstitute a yielding support, is pivoted at one end and allowed to betipped up at the other. This construction is not however, essential, norin most cases desirable, since the feed apronand its rolls may besupported in a frame 0' which may be constructed as a scale platform andsupported upon levers having scale or knife edge bearings, as shown inFigs. 4, 5 and 6, so that said feeding apron or yielding support (for itis understood that instead of a feed apron it may as well be a fixedsurface), may be lowered and raised bodily.

It will be noted that in the modifications at present being described,the frame 0' is supported upon a knife edge d of a lever e, the latterbeing at its its inner end supported upon a knife edge f The outer endof the lever e is connected by means of a rod g with an arm or lever hextending to the arm as hereinbefore described.

In Fig. 7 the yielding support 11 is shown as inclined when in normalposition and fulcrumed on a rod j near the lower roll of the liftingapron. The fulcrum rod j is connected to an arm or lever k similar toarm at and said arm k is adapted to be connected with the speed-changingmechanism so that as the position of the support z" varies by thevarying weight or pressure of the stock thereon the speed of the liftingapron will be changed accordingly.

In Fig. 8 the yielding support Z is shown to be laterally arranged whenin normal position, and to be fulcrumed at its upper edge on a rod 771/,which rod is connected through an arm or lever m and a link rod m with abell-crank-lever 12 similar in function to arm a: and hence adapted toactuate the speedchanging mechanism in a similar manner.

It is to be noted that while the invention of.

necessity has a yielding support upon which the material may operate bygravity or pressure the character of such support and the manner of itsarrangement in the machine are not essential, nor is the location of theyielding support essential to the invention excepting that it shall beso that the stock being fed as ICC described may act thereon by gravityor pressure in order to act on the speed-changing mechanism for thepurpose described.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way ofconstructing and using the same, though without attempting to set forthall of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use,it is declared that what is claimed is 1. The combination of a yieldingsupport for the material, a lifting-apron, means for operating the samea speed-changing mechanism for controlling the speed at which thelifting-apron is driven,and mechanism intermediate of the yieldingsupport and speedchanging mechanism and connecting the same, whereby asthe weight or pressure of the material on the yielding support varies,

' forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 25th day of Ootober,-A. D.1893.

ALBERT HAYES MORTON.

Witnesses: I

ARTHUR W. CROSSLEY, A. D. HARRISON.

